AB de Villiers announces retirement from international cricket

23 May 2018

South African batsman AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on Wednesday (May 23).

“I have decided to retire from all international cricket with immediate effect,” said de Villiers via a video message on his official Facebook page and Twitter handle. “After 114 Test matches, 228 ODI’s and 78 T20 Internationals, it is time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired.

“This is a tough decision, I have thought long and hard about it and I’d like to retire while still playing decent cricket. After the fantastic series wins against India and Australia, now feels like the right time to step aside.

AB’s decision has come post a productive season with Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2018. The former Proteas skipper scored 480 runs in 12 games for the franchise at a phenomenal average of 53.33. Despite his efforts, RCB failed to make the qualifiers, finishing sixth in the table after a late resurgence.

In an international career spanning 14 years, AB de Villiers scored 20,014 runs, 47 centuries and 109 fifties in all formats combined. The prolific batsman has finished with a career average of 50+ in both Tests (50.66) and ODIs (53.5).

“It would not be right for me to pick and choose where, when and in what format I play for the Proteas. For me, in the green and gold, it must be everything or nothing. I will always be grateful to the coaches and staff of Cricket South Africa for their support through all these years. The most important thank you goes out to all of my team mates throughout my career, I wouldn’t be half the player that I am without the support throughout the years.

“It’s not about earning more somewhere else, it’s about running out of gas and feeling that it is the right time to move on. Everything comes to an end. To the cricket fans around South Africa and the world, thank you for your kindness and generosity, and today, for your understanding.

“I have no plans to play overseas, in fact, I hope I can continue to be available for the Titans in domestic cricket. I will continue to be the biggest supporter of Faf du Plessis and the Proteas.”